Your purpose statement grounds you and provides the guidelines for your services, procedures, and policies. It drives your corporate identity and helps to provide direction in decision-making for your organization. A business needs a strong and clear underlying foundation of purpose, and your purpose statement does that.

But while providing your business a foundation and guidelines, does it also motivate?

You may be asking yourself why that would be important. That’s a great question, and I am going to answer it!

The definition of the word “motivate” (verb) is:

• To provide with an incentive or a reason for doing something; impel.

• To cause to be enthusiastic.

Ask yourself this: who might need an incentive to keep going some days? Perhaps you, yourself? Maybe your workforce? Your purpose statement can be a great tool to use if a reminder is needed as to why you show up every day and what you are trying to achieve.

Another question you might ask yourself: is every day really an adventure? Do you feel like doing cartwheels each time you open your laptop or the office door? I would be very surprised if you said “yes” right about now. Your purpose statement can help to rejuvenate your enthusiasm for your endeavors. Remember, if you aren’t excited about what you do, your clients won’t be, either.

The mission statement of every business will explain what that business does and who it does it for while laying out long term goals for success and the future of the business. Values statements define the culture of the organization and what is most important within it. But before any of these statements can be created, the purpose of the organization must first be established. Your purpose statement should be motivational and speak to the heart of your company and be central to everything you do. Think of it as your philosophical heartbeat.

Your mission, vision, and values statements can adjust over time as you grow, change, and even pivot into new markets, but the core reason why you do what you do will never change. The way you communicate your purpose needs to provide both you and your staff the motivation to do your thing every day, no matter what.

Many of the largest and most successful companies in the world (think Nike, Starbucks, Disney, etc.) use words that elevate, such as: “nurture the human spirit”, “dream”, “happy place”, “achieve”, and “innovation”, just to mention a few. Words such as these used in a purpose statement will tell both your team and your clientele each and every day why you do what you do while targeting their emotional center, or heart – which studies show is the true decision-making vehicle within all of us.

I’m AnnaVija. It is my honor and my absolute pleasure to help the small business community here in Nashville to achieve their dreams. When it comes to your purpose statement, remember this: The very best message you can send is not to tell others how you do what you do, or even what you do; it is always going to be to tell others why.